How healthy is coffee? decaf? What about teas?‏

A personal message from mike geary to me,

Apparently, tea is the most consumed beverage world-wide. However, in the US, coffee is the most consumed beverage.

So is this addiction to coffee bad or good for you?

We all have heard the endless benefits of teas and all of the various antioxidant quantities and varieties in green, white, oolong, black, and rooibos teas, as well as other herbal teas. However, the general consensus appears to be a little more vague about whether coffee is beneficial or detrimental to your health.

From the research I've done and viewing opinions on the matter that go both ways, it's my opinion that coffee DOES have some beneficial effects, but it's best done in moderation (such as a cup every other day) instead of the typical 2-4 cups per day that most Americans drink.

One positive benefit is that coffee is a rich source of antioxidants similar to how teas and cocoa are rich sources of various antioxidants. It seems that the high antioxidant content of coffee over-rules any negative components of coffee such as the tars, etc.

Another benefit of coffee is that it contains several minerals as well as chlorogenic acid which can help improve insulin sensitivity and improve liver function in your body. Keep in mind that decaf is NOT considered a healthy choice due to the chemical processing it undergoes to remove the caffeine. This chemical processing can also damage the natural antioxidants in coffee as well as leave a certain percentage of the decaffeinating chemical in the coffee. So you need to drink the full octane coffee to reap the potential benefits.

However, there lies part of the problem. The caffeine in coffee is in higher levels and also has the ability to create addiction to caffeine much more than teas. In teas, not only is the caffeine quantity lower, but it also has a more muted effect than coffee. It is theorized that the caffeine response is more friendly in the body from tea because some of the other compounds in tea help to mute the effect of the caffeine it contains.

Back to coffee... the caffeine addiction that most people get from coffee is one of the major problems associated with drinking multiple cups per day. Also keep in mind that it's best to drink coffee black... instead of with cream, sugar, fake creamers (which most have trans fats), or artificial sweeteners. If you don't like it black, try to use a touch of stevia, a very small amount of sugar, or a little touch of real maple syrup. One of my favorites is to make a cup of coffee, add a little cocoa powder (even more antioxidants), and a little stevia or real maple syrup. Sort of a "mocha-maple coffee". Mmm good!

Since teas have much lower quantities of caffeine and still have tremendous antioxidant benefits, having daily teas appears to be a smarter alternative than daily coffee. If you really love coffee, I do think there can be some benefits to it, but like I mentioned, my opinion is that it's best only a couple times a week instead of every single day to prevent the strong caffeine addiction.

A little fact about teas... Did you know that green tea, white tea, black tea, and oolong tea all come from the same plant? Yep. Black tea is the fermented leaves.Green tea is non-fermented leaves.White tea is young buds.Oolong tea is from the stems. They all have different concentrations and compositions of various antioxidants, so it can be beneficial to include some variety into the teas that you get. Another lesser known tea is called Rooibos tea (red tea) native to south africa. This tea also has high levels of antioxidants but in different compositions than the other teas. So with all of this about tea and coffee being considered, what I like to do is rotate 4 or 5 different teas and have a different one almost every day of the week, and then have coffee no more than once or twice a week.

One of the benefits of this variability is that you really diversify your antioxidant intake (as well as eliminating boredom since you're drinking something different every day). Enjoy! **I forgot to mention last week...

To give you some extra motivation this year to get in the best shape of your life, entering a contest is one of the best ways to do this... Remember the Body for Life Contests that were so popular years ago? Well people really did get in the best shape of their lives partially because of the competitive factor of being involved in a contest. There's an alternative this year to the Body for Life Contest (and you have a much better chance of winning as your pool of competitors is much smaller than BFL!)... You can join Craig B's TT contest. The last day you must join if you want a shot at winning the prizes is January 21, 2008. Here are the prizes: Grand Prize - $2000 & a 3-year Platinum TT Membership Second Place - $1000 & a 2-year Platinum TT Membership Third Place - $500 & a 1-Year Platinum TT Membership You must purchase a copy of TT to enter into the contest and you will keep a training journal and enter your before/after pics on the membership site that you'll get access to. If you want that extra bit of motivation to get in the best shape of your life and also have a chance at winning $500, $1000, or even $2000 at the same time, then purchase a copy of Craig's TT program and get started at: http://beyondcardioworkouts.com

If you've already purchased a copy of this and want to enter the contest, you should have received the details from Craig. If not, you can contact them at their site above for the details. Remember, if you want to compete in this contest, you need to start asap and get your photos and info submitted on the membership site by no later than Jan 21, 2008. It's a 12-week contest similar to BFL. Alright, I'll be back in a couple days with more lean body secrets. Til then, don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition SpecialistCertified Personal TrainerFounder - Truth About Abs